Look Up With Patience and Prayer

In the last blog LookDown, Look Around or Look Up we saw that one of the choices we can make is to allow God’s love to be your life preserver. Secondly…

Let patience be your priority

We want our problems solved now or at least really soon. Here’s the problem and here is the quick solution, but God sees things differently. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts Isaiah 55:10

God uses our pain and disappointment to bring hope
We trust in things that aren’t going to last. God may test us to grow us, but not to grade us. Growth and hope are not guaranteed results of problems. It takes patience. Romans 5:3-5

And after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised… We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:15, 19

Yes, being patient with our problems is easy to talk about, but hard to do. No matter how big or small our problems are they will not usually be solved overnight. We live with them every day and some of them can wear us down whether we think they should or not.

God helps us to face our problems with patience by not facing them alone
Let wise trustworthy friends help you. By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2   Call, text or email those you care about or to those that care about you. Thirdly…

Let your prayer be your pressure release

We all need to talk to others, but we also need to talk to God.  O LORD, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from an honest heart. Psalm 17:11

The psalmist is not phony and pietistic but honest with himself and God. Be honest and you’ll get an honest answer, but you might not get what you’re asking for. Thank God He doesn’t give us what we deserve, but what we really need and that is abundant grace.

God is never too busy to hear your complaint and is always available
Hurry with your answer, God I’m nearly at the end of my rope. Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me! Psalm 143:7

Every day you and I can make time wherever we are to talk to God.

H.E.L.P. A Real Life Rescue Story

A few weeks ago a capsized ship forced a group of mariners to swim to a nearby island, where they fought to survive while hoping desperately for a rescue effort from civilization. The three men not only found themselves stranded on such an island, but digging trenches on the beach to spell out the giant letters "H-E-L-P."

Unlike the majority of these true stories, however, it actually worked! A U.S. Navy plane saw the letters and notified nearby authorities to rescue them. The men were waving their orange life jackets when the Navy plane spotted them on the small island of Fanadik, several hundred miles north of Papua New Guinea. Two hours later they were rescued by a small local boat that picked them up and took them to a hospital.

Sometimes everyday life it can seem like our prayers to God are about as effective as spelling out giant letters in the sand, ‘HELP’ hoping somebody "up there" will see them. Like these three guys we want to be rescued right away or that our problems solved now or at least really soon. Here’s the problem and here is the quick solution, but God sees thing differently. Yet, scripture tells us that God knows what we need, even before we ask—especially when we need to be rescued. God’s lifesaver is thrown out to us in two ways.

Admit you need HELP from God
Honestly cry out to God for help in your time of need.
Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament O LORD, hear my plea, and listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from an honest heart…Hurry with your answer, God I’m nearly at the end of my rope. Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me.                                                                                                                 Psalm 5:1;17:7;143:7

The psalmist is not phony and pietistic, but honest with himself and God, he’s asking for God’s help and not trying to do it all by himself. God is never too busy to hear your story. He is always listening to you.

Let Others HELP You
When were in dire straits we need to reach out. If you’re a perfectionist or a recovering one, you might think if you want a job well done you got to do it yourself. Even though Jesus was perfect he didn’t try to do ministry by himself. He appointed the twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. Mark 3:14

Do you think Jesus could preach better than the disciples? Of course, but he needed them. If Jesus needed help from others, what does that say about you and me? Stress tells you, “you got to do it yourself, you’ll handle it.” A lot of the times help is just a prayer and a few feet away. Unfortunately, our pride and insecurity keeps us for asking for help.

One of the ways God helps us to face our problems is not facing them alone. Let wise and trustworthy friends help you.  By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

It’s humbling to admit, “I need help,” but you’re like everybody else – you need help. We all experience times when we need HELP, there are no exemptions. Let God and His people help you.

Reduce Stress - Pray and Relax

Thanks for joining us as we continue to learn more life principles from Jesus and how they can reduce our stress. For more insights about reducing your stress see our previous blogs Are You Stressed? And the Truth about Stress here.

Pray
No matter how busy Jesus was He took time to pray.
…Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses, but Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.  Luke 5:15-16

 Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest." Mark 6:31

All the noise and pressures of the world and busyness brings stress. When was the last time you sat still in the quiet and talked to God about your concerns?

Your alarm clock doesn’t wake you with a warm good morning. Many of our days are bombarded with the latest news about our economic future, possible terrorist’s threats, health care, relationship crash, foreclosures, job losses and our own job security. No wonder people are stressed out.

Where do you go for solitude? God is the only one who really knows the full reality of your life and only One who has all the resources to comfort you and change things. So pray…

Relax

Many find it hard to relax today and can’t stop doing… If you’re a workaholic please know that rest and relaxation is not wasted time. Jesus took time off from the most important stuff of life. People’ lives were at stake. Is your job more important than Jesus’? He took time off, so should you. Unless we schedule time off we’ll always have something to do.

What recharges your batteries? Is it hitting balls, reading, exercise, hiking, what? Take time to enjoy life. Learn from God, He rested on the Sabbath. You don’t need to do errands on the one day of rest, whichever day that is for you.

Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” God knows what we need – he wants what’s best for us. Perhaps you might benefit from reading Tim Hansel’s book, When I Relax I Feel Guilty.

Take intentional steps to avoid and reduce stress that can drive you crazy. One of the greatest sources of stress is refusing to allow Jesus to be part of every detail of your life. Is there any area you’re keeping from Him that’s not submitted to His leadership? We aren’t meant to live apart from Christ; we’re  meant to live in sync with Him.

You can be stressed out without even being busy. Maybe you’re fatigued, feeling like a failure, burned out, fearful, frustrated and living in constant stress? Here is a fantastic offer from two thousand years ago that’s still good today. "Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

Notice He didn’t say I’ll give you more work, more rules and more regulations you can’t keep? NO! What He did say is, “Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives.  The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light." Matthew 11:29-30

Carrying a heavy load? Isn’t time to transfer your load upon Jesus by aligning your life with His? It’s bearable and manageable. Accept His offer.

With Hope and Less Stress,

Mark

mark@markskalberg.com